Door straightener kit



United States Patent 3,471,973 DOOR STRAIGHTENER KIT Gilbert A. Behmlander, 1991 Salzburg Road, Bay City, Mich. 48706 Filed July 5, 1968, Ser. No. 742,748 Int. Cl. E06b 7/00 US. Cl. 49-503 6 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A lightweight kit readily attached to a warped door of a residential type and left on the door for an extended period while the door gradually assumes a permanent straightened shape consists of a U-shaped yoke having a planar back side to the closed portidn of the U, and substantially flexible connecting means extending from the yoke, positioned adjacent the door knob, to light metal strips, one at each end. The strips are readily bent over the top and lower edges of the door, respectively, and fastened with a wood screw or a brad. A turnbuckle in one of the connecting means provides tension adjustment.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the invention The invention relates to a light-weight low cost kit for straightening a warped door, such as the hollow core or solid doors normally used in residential construction. The invention more especially relates to a door straightening kit employing a yoke adjacent the door knob and adjustable connecting means connecting the yoke and the upper and lower edges of the door whereby tension may be applied to correct a warped door configuration.

Background of the invention As a consequence of increasing sales of lower grades of lumber as the cost of building materials rises, and further, as a consequence of an increased incidence of year-round residental construction with attendant exposure of lumber products to extremes of temperature and humidity before being adequately painted or otherwise sealed, there has been an increased incidence of warped doors. These are generally replaced at the expense of the building contractor and the materials supplier, but also, are often reluctantly tolerated by the new home owner, especially when the replacement warps like the original and the contractor becomes recalcitrant.

These doors, when hung, are normally held straight by the hinges at one lateral edge, but if occurs warpage, warp top to bottom at the opposite edge where the door is latched to the joint or frame.

Rather crude attempts have been made to salvage warped doors, heretofore, by laying such a door across saw horses and placing weights on the door at strategic points, with or without concurrent wetting down or steaming of the door. Such a door is out of service while it is being straightened, and the treatment all too often does not achieve a permanent nor even a temporarily satisfactory correction.

Apparatus has been devised for straightening a door using tensioning means with enormously heavy parts, such as a massive yoke fastened to the door with heavy lag screws or bolts, heavy rods with turnbuckles extending both upwardly and downwardly from the yoke, and heavy sockets or plates attached to the door with heavy screws or bolts and having the heavy rods attached thereto. Such apparatus suffers from the disadvantages that it requires a craftsman for the installation thereof; that it makes the door unsightly; and that it leaves dis- Patented Oct. 14, 1969 ICC Objects of the invention It is a principal object of the invention to provide a lightweight convenient door straightener kit which overcomes the disadvantages of the said prior art apparatus.

It is another object of the invention to provide a door straightener kit which can be marketed at a very reasonable price compared to the price of a new door and finishing operations required thereon in replacing a warped door.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a door straightener kit which is not unsightly and does not interfere with normal use of the door.

These and other objects and advantages of the door straightener kit of the invention will be more apparent to those skilled in the art on becoming familiar with the following description and the appended drawings, in which like reference numerals refer to like parts, and in which FIG. 1 is a view in front elevation of a residential type door having the kit of the invention mounted thereon;

FIG. 2 is a view in side elevation of the door of FIG. 1 showing the straightener kit in profile;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary view of the upper edge of the door of FIG. 2, showing the details of the clip mounting; and

FIGS. 4, 5, 6 and 7 depict additional embodiments of the yoke usable as a part of the straightener kit.

Statement of the invention The invention is based on the discovery that a lightweight door straightener kit is provided on assembling a generally U-shaped yoke having the back side of the closed part of the U generally planar, connecting means to extend from the open ends or arms of the U-shaped yoke to the respective upper and lower edges of a door upon which the kit is mounted by thin metal strips attached at respective free ends of the connecting means, the strips being bent over the door edges to form clips which are attached to the door on the face opposite the side where the yoke is suspended, and at least one of the connecting means including a turnbuckle as an essential element or part thereof.

Detailed description of the invention Referring more particularly to FIGS. 1 and 2, the door straightener kit consisting of a generally U-shaped yoke 10, first connecting means 11 extending from the yoke 10 to the upper clip 12, and second connecting means 13, including a turnbuckle 14, and extending from the yoke 10 to the lower clip 15, is seen to be mounted on a type of door 16 normally used in residential construction. Such doors are made of wood, and may be of hollow core or solid core construction. The kit may be used if desired on light weight metal doors, though these may generally be straightened permanently by a distorting force carefully and quickly applied.

The yoke 10 is generally U-shaped in form with the closed part of the U 17 being substantially planar so 'as to lie flush against the door with the arms 18 of the yoke extending perpendicularly out from the door. The connecting means 11 and 13 are connected to the arms 18, respectively, in any suitable manner, as by inserting the end of the connecting means through a hole or bore through the arm adjacent the free end of the arm and creating an enlarged end on the connecting means that will not pull out, or, in the case of flexible connecting means, tying the connecting means, but, preferably, by providing a setscrew in the arm extending transversely to the bore in the arm, and by adjustably pinching or locking the connecting means in place as it extends through the bore.

Such setscrews, as illustrated in FIG. 4, may be equipped with wing type ends for easy manual manipulation.

The closed part 17 of the U of the yoke may be elongated and generally rectangular in shape, but is preferably narrower, or at least offset laterally, from the arms 18, so as to more assuredly provide for positioning the yoke adjacent to the door knob 19 without interfering with the operation of the knob. Other forms of the yoke which may be used as a part of the present kit are shown in FIGS. 4, 5, 6 and 7. These yokes provide more exaggerated offset around the door knob. The yokes of FIGS. 5 and 6 are intended to fit concentrically around the door knob. The yokes of FIGS. 4 and 7, as well as the yoke of FIGS. 1 and 2 may be positioned on either side laterally of the door knob, inverting from the positions shown, if necessary, to fit around the knob.

The yoke may be formed of any suitable sturdy material of construction, but is conveniently made by cutting off a short portion, e.g., about one inch, of a U- shaped channel iron, or by casting, e.g., a magnesium base alloy. Preferably the arms of the yoke are not substantially longer than the distance the door knob projects from the door.

As an essentialy part of the invention, the yoke 10 is not attached to the door, but is held against the door, on the side of the door which bows outwardly between the top and bottom edges, by the tension created in adjusting the connecting means. No fastener is needed to hold the yoke in place, thus avoiding marking up and damaging the door. Also, since the yoke is relatively free to slide as adjustments are made in the connecting means, only one turnbuckle 14 is needed, though more may be used if desired.

The connecting means 11, and the two portions 20, 21 of connecting means 13 connecting the turnbuckle, respectively, to the yoke 10 and the clip 15, may be made of any suitable strong light gauge material with good tensile qualities, but is preferably and practically of metal. Such connecting means may be made of substantially rigid material, but is preferably formed of light gauge woven metal filaments, in the form of a metal cable or wire rope, e.g., a metal cable about one-eighth inch in diameter. Such cable, if formed of ferrous metal, is highly flexible, is readily coiled up for packaging, and is readily brazed to the clips 12, 15, as well as to the ends of the turnbuckle 14.

The thin metal strips 12, 15 and best formed of a metal or alloy that is malleable and flexible enough to be bent closely over the edges of the door without breaking, and conforming so closely to the shape of the door that the door is nt prevented from closing into any but the most tight fitting jambs. Preferably the metal strip is easily bent, as by hand, without the use of special tools. Suitable metals include highly malleable steel, nodular cast iron, aluminum and some of its softer alloys, copper and brass.

The thin metal strips may be pierced beforehand before sale of the kit, or provided with a longitudinal series of tiny circular knockout markings which may be easily punched out, or if the metal is sufiiciently soft, the fastener means 22, as shown in FIG. 3, may simply be forced through the strip by the installer, e.g., after the strip has been cut to length to suit the door. If desired, the strip may also be scored transversely at several spacings from the terminal end to permit easy flexing and breaking to length. Any suitable fastener 22, such as a wood screw or nail or sturdy brad, may be used. Usually one fastener suffices, though more may be used. However, one is best since the more fasteners, the more holes will show after the kit is removed.

In installing the straightener kit on a door along the edge opposite the hinges and while the door is in service, the yoke is ordinarily held adjacent the door knob on the door face which bows outwardly in the middle and the length to an upper or lower edge is gauged. The connecting means to the edge selected is straightened out to the edge and the thin metal strip trimmed to length if necessary so that the strip just extends around to the opposite face of the door and along that face about an inch. The strip is secured with a wood screw or brad. Then the other connecting means is similarly extended and the metal strip attached. Then tension is applied to the door sufficient to correct the warped configuration by means of the adjustable turnbuckle. If necessary, the length of the connecting means is adjusted at the connection to the yoke, as where as setscrew is used as described hereinabove.

Among the advantages of the present straightener kit are its lightweight which does not interfere with normal door characteristics such as momentum in opening and closing, and the ease with which the do-it-yourself homeowner can install the kit with a minimum of tools.

I claim:

1. A lightweight kit for attaching to and straightening a warped door of a residential construction type, which comprises:

a generally U-shaped yoke having first and second substantially parallel arms connected by the closed part of the U, the surface of said closed part facing away from said arms being substantially planar and adapted to be positioned against said door adjacent the normal door knob location on the face of the warped door which bows outwardly at such location;

first lightweight connecting means adapted at one end to be connected to the first arm of said yoke and at the other end having attached thereto a first thin fiat strip of readily hand-bent metal, said first connecting means being long enough to reach from the first arm of the yoke to a vertical end of said door, said first thin flat strip of metal being readily bent closely over said vertical end of said door to form a closefitting, generally U-shaped clip and said clip being readily pierced adjacent its terminal end to receive means for fastening the clip to the door on the door face away from the yoke;

a turnbuckle having first and second ends;

second connecting means attaching the first end of said turnbuckle to the second arm of said yoke;

third connecting means having the second end of said turnbuckle attached at one end and at the other end having attached a second thin flat strip of readily hand-bent metal, said second thin fiat strip of metal being readily bent closely over the vertical end of the door opposite said first thin metal strip to form a close-fitting, generally U-shaped clip, said clip being readily pierced adjacent its terminal end to receive means for fastening the clip to the door on the door face opposite the yoke;

and fastening means for attaching both said clips to the door;

said kit being readily removed from the door substantially without leaving visible unsightly marks on the door.

2. The kit as in claim 1 in which at least one of said first, second and third connecting means is a flexible metal cable.

3. The kit as in claim 1 in which the closed portion of the generally U-shaped yoke is shaped laterally concave so as to be unstraight and adapted to fit about at least one side of the door knob of said door, with the knob on the concave side of the closed portion.

5 6 4. The kit as in claim 1 in which each connecting means References Cited g Warped UNITED STATES PATENTS e 10 Calm incominaionwi a door, the yoke being mounted on the face of the door 430,032 6/1890 Kalsef 49 503 which bows outwardly between the upper and lower ends 5 2 553 i of the door, and the yoke belng unattached to the door. 2:786:242 3/1957 p m 52-291 6. The kit of claim 1 in combination with a warped door, the yoke being mounted on the face of the door KENNETH DOWNEYJrimary Examiner which bows outwardly between the upper and lower ends of the door, the yoke being unattached to the door, and 10 US. C1.X.R.

the door being hung and in service. 52-291 

